Cullen was the undisputed king of the Pankration Ring.
He stood tall, with smooth, well-defined muscles.
In terms of physical ability, he was every bit Toki’s equal!
What made him even more formidable was his several decades of fighting experience.
His techniques were tricky, his timing precise.
His skill far surpassed that of every other inmate in the Fortress of Meropide.
Toki stepped into the ring.
His expression turned serious.
He could feel it.
The man standing before him…
Was completely different from every opponent he had faced before.
“Interesting.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a newcomer this tough.” Cullen loosened his wrists, his voice calm.
“Unfortunately, a strong body alone isn’t enough.” The moment he finished speaking…
Cullen attacked first.
His footwork was agile, and his punches came from unpredictable angles.
Toki relied on instinct to dodge and block.
When their strength collided head-on, Cullen actually held his ground!
For a while, neither of them could gain the upper hand.
But gradually…
The difference between them began to show.
Toki had nothing but brute strength, with no proper method behind either his offense or defense.
Cullen, on the other hand, fought with calculated precision, every move difficult to read!
Dodging, counterattacking, redirecting force, controlling distance.
Every single movement was executed with incredible accuracy!
The longer the fight went on, the more Toki was forced onto the defensive.
He had plenty of strength…
But he simply couldn’t land a devastating blow.
Instead, Cullen kept moving around him, steadily wearing him down.
Whenever an opening appeared, Cullen immediately exploited it, striking precisely at his weak points.
After several exchanges…
Toki’s breathing gradually became ragged.
Cullen caught a momentary opening.
A crisp hook from the side slammed into Toki beneath the ribs.
A burst of agonizing pain shot through him, freezing his body for an instant.
Cullen immediately followed through with the momentum and brought him crashing to the ground.
The referee quickly stepped forward and began the count.
Toki struggled several times, but in the end, he couldn’t get back to his feet.
“The match is over!
Cullen wins!” Thunderous applause erupted from below the ring.
Cullen reached out and pulled Toki back to his feet.
“Your body is incredibly strong.
If anything, you’re physically stronger than I am.” His tone was sincere, without the slightest hint of contempt.
“But when it comes to technique, you’re far behind.” Toki panted heavily and nodded in agreement.
“I know.
You’re basically saying…
I’m still green and need more practice.” He accepted this defeat wholeheartedly.
He hadn’t lost because he lacked strength.
He had lost because he lacked experience and technique.
Looking at it that way, he couldn’t rely solely on Furina to raise his realm.
He needed to train himself as well if he wanted to make better use of the power he had gained.
Toki stepped down from the ring.
He rubbed the spot beneath his ribs that was still throbbing faintly.
Yet there was no discouragement in his eyes.
Instead, an even fiercer fighting spirit burned within them.
Not long afterward, Toki was helped into the infirmary.
The infirmary was spotless.
A faint herbal scent lingered in the air.
Sigewinne sat beside a table, her head lowered as she sorted through medicinal herbs.
When she saw Toki being helped inside, she quickly put down what she was holding.
She hurried over, narrowing her eyes as she examined him.
After checking him over, a worried expression appeared on her face.
“Oh my, how did you get hurt this badly?
These internal injuries are serious!” At that moment, Wriothesley walked in as well.
There wasn’t much expression on his face as he lightly shook his head.
His voice carried a trace of helplessness.
“What else could have happened?” “He went to test himself at the Pankration Ring.
No technique, just brute force.” “Against a veteran who’s fought hundreds of matches, there was no way that would end well.” He had already heard that Toki had gone to the Pankration Ring.
He knew Toki had impressive physical abilities.
He simply hadn’t expected him to lack even the most basic fighting technique.
Sigewinne looked at Toki with concern.
Then she turned toward a cabinet and pulled out an enormous syringe.
It was filled with a pale blue liquid.
She gave the syringe a little shake and smiled.
“But don’t worry!
No matter how serious your internal injuries are, one injection will fix everything!” The instant Toki heard the word “injection”…
He became considerably more alert.
Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the syringe, which was thicker than his own arm.
His entire body stiffened as he forced himself to stay composed and hurriedly raised a hand.
“W-Wait.” “Can we skip the injection?” “One jab from that thing and I feel like I’ll be meeting my ancestors…” Sigewinne frowned slightly.
Then she shook her head, sounding genuinely confused.
“But if I don’t give you an injection, how are you supposed to recover quickly?” “My syringe doesn’t hurt at all.” “If you stick me with that thing, I seriously feel like I’ll die even faster…” Toki took a breath, his voice filled with helplessness.
“Can’t you just use Hydro to heal me directly?
Or medicine?
Yes, medicine is fine!” Toki stared at that enormous syringe.
A chill ran through him.
If that thing went into him, wouldn’t it be absolute torture?
Sigewinne hesitated for a moment.
Then she nodded.
“Medicine…
should work too.” “But you’ll have to wait for a while.” “I need to prepare a specific herbal treatment before I can apply it to you.” “You’ll recover a little slower than you would with an injection.” “I can wait!
I can definitely wait!” Toki immediately nodded, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“The Credit Coupons I’ve saved over the past few days are enough for me to take a pretty long medical leave.” “There’s no rush.
Take all the time you need.” “All right, then.” Sigewinne smiled and nodded.
“I’ll go prepare the herbal medicine now.” “I’ll stay with you too, so I can keep an eye on your injuries.” “If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, just tell me, okay?” The moment Sigewinne finished speaking…
A crisp notification suddenly rang out inside Toki’s mind.
It instantly shattered the tranquility of the infirmary.
[Ding!
Target Sigewinne has been detected as willingly choosing to accompany you.] [You may bind “Sigewinne” as a partner.
Would you like to bind her?] “Huh?!” Toki froze for two seconds.
An expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
He hurriedly questioned the system in his mind.
“System, haven’t I already bound Furina?” “Why can I bind Sigewinne too?” “Aren’t I only allowed to bind one partner?” [System Notice: There is no limit to the number of partners.] [As long as the target willingly chooses to accompany the host and harbors no resistance…] [They may be bound as the host’s partner.] “Then whose strength determines the one-realm increase?” Toki immediately asked another question.
[System Notice: The host’s combat power will remain one realm above the combined combat power of all bound partners.] [The greater the number of partners, the greater their combined combat power, and the more significant the host’s increase in strength.] “You could’ve told me that sooner!!!” Toki was ecstatic.
The grin spreading across his face became impossible to suppress.
“If that’s how it works, I can cast my net far and wide!” “I can try binding every person in Teyvat who qualifies!” “Since it’s calculated from their combined combat power…
the more, the better!” He looked toward Sigewinne, who was carefully preparing his herbal medicine nearby.
His eyes were filled with amusement.
Who would have thought that losing a single match…
Would bring him such an unexpected reward?
It was truly a blessing in disguise!
(End of Chapter)